A man is suing a West Virginia nursing home and its parent company for his father’s injuries and death. The man’s father was admitted to the facility in August 2021, and during his time there he allegedly suffered four unwitnessed falls, which resulted in a right distal clavicle fracture, a small right-sided subdural hematoma with a significant decline in his condition and, eventually, his death in 2022, according to the suit.
The son claims the negligence and carelessness of the defendants contributed substantially to the serious injuries which led up to the death of his father. He said the defendants failed to keep his father and his family members fully informed of his total health status and of his medical condition during his time at the facility. He said the defendants failed to provide a sufficient number of staff to provide adequate and appropriate nursing care to all its residents in accordance with their resident care plans.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants were negligent in their care of the man’s father, as they had a duty to act within reasonable care in the provision of services to him. The son also claimed the defendants breached their duties and were responsible for the serious injuries his father sustained. He said the defendants failed to maintain the premises in a safe manner and failed to provide proper care and treatment.
The son is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
F689 states that the resident environment must remain as free of accident hazards as possible, and each resident should receive adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents. The requirement includes identifying and evaluating hazards and risks, implementing interventions to reduce hazards and risks, monitoring for effectiveness, and modifying interventions when necessary. If a fall occurs, the resident must be assessed thoroughly, and the plan of care updated to reduce the likelihood of future falls. The physician should be notified promptly of all falls, and if a change in condition occurs, the physician must be notified immediately. Failure to prevent falls can be considered provision of substandard quality of care, and may result in immediate jeopardy citations, fines, and lawsuits.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures for resident safety, including fall prevention protocols, to ensure that they provide evidence-based interventions to reduce injuries and falls. Also review your policies and procedures for reporting and documenting incidents/accidents to ensure they include current requirements.
- Establish a stop, look, listen care plan for residents at risk of falls. This means that any staff person passing the room should look into the room, listen for problems as they pass, even if it is not someone on their assignment that day and the resident has not called for assistance. Train all appropriate staff on resident safety policies and procedures, documentation, and reporting requirements. Access falls-related training information here. Document that the training occurred, and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Conduct a falls risk analysis for each resident at the time of admission, quarterly with the care plan cycle, and as needed, and implement individualized interventions starting on the day of admission. Periodically audit care plans to ensure that they are appropriate and contain evidence-based interventions to keep residents free from injury, that interventions are revised as needed, and that staff are informed of changes. Audit your incident/accident reports to ensure that the responsible party and physician were notified of events appropriately, that all issues where reporting is required were managed timely with appropriate follow-up, and that documentation is complete.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*f
